APEC security plans for Waikiki prompt grumbling

Unprecedented security for next month's APEC conference has some in Waikiki grumbling
By The Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) ' Security checkpoints, barricades and street closures planned for Waikiki during next the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference next month have many who come to Waikiki each day grumbling.

They wonder why leaders can't meet somewhere less congested, like another Hawaiian island or on a military base that has plenty of security.

The public will be banned from a half-mile stretch of the beach on Nov. 12, when President Barack Obama hosts the meeting in the city where he was born.

Local leaders see the meeting as a chance to show off Hawaii as not only a vacation destination but an ideal place to do business. Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle said the broader community "gets it" and is happy to host the delegates.